NHS Wait Helper

Hospital service waiting times

Orthopaedics waiting times at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

At the end of August 2026, 8,476 people were on the Orthopaedics at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust waiting list and about 5 in 10 people (54%) had been waiting less than 18 weeks.

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust · NHS trust · Orthopaedics across England

People waiting
8,476
End of August 2026
Under 18 weeks
53.7%
England: 60.9%
Over 52 weeks
238
Median wait
17 wks
Published median for this list

238 people (2.8%, roughly 1 in 36) had been waiting more than 52 weeks.

This hospital's published position is 7.2 percentage points behind the England figure for this service.

Why this page exists

This page combines facts that neither the organisation page nor the England specialty page shows on its own: the current published figure for this one service at this one organisation; how that figure has moved over the months we hold; the England figure for the same service in the same month; other NHS trusts within 25 miles reporting the same service; the published median wait and 52-week count for this list; the other services this organisation reports. This service accounts for 12.6% of everyone waiting at University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust.

How published 18-week performance has changed

Orthopaedics, NHS England Referral to Treatment figures, April 2024 to August 2026.

18-week performance improved

Published 18-week performance for Orthopaedics at this organisation has improved over the past 12 months: 53.7% of people on the waiting list at the end of August 2026 had been waiting under 18 weeks, compared with 47.8% at the end of August 2025.

Share of people on the waiting list who had been waiting under 18 weeks, at the end of each month. Scale runs from 0% to 100%.
Latest · August 2026
53.7%
3 months earlier · May 2026
51.9% then · change to latest +1.8 percentage points
6 months earlier · February 2026
48.2% then · change to latest +5.6 percentage points
12 months earlier · August 2025
47.8% then · change to latest +5.9 percentage points
Earliest available · April 2024
49% then · change to latest +4.7 percentage points
Month-by-month figures
Share waiting under 18 weeks by month
Month endUnder 18 weeksPeople waiting
August 202653.7%8,476
July 202655.6%8,287
June 202654.6%8,048
May 202651.9%8,063
April 202649.6%8,123
March 202649.1%7,972
February 202648.2%7,992
January 202647.7%8,083
December 202546.2%7,861
November 202545.7%7,684
October 202547.7%7,818
September 202547.3%7,571
August 202547.8%7,514
July 202548.1%7,386
June 202552.5%7,561
May 202551.4%7,500
April 202550.4%7,498
March 202549.2%7,531
February 202547.2%7,361
January 202547.5%7,566
December 202449%7,806
November 202449.5%7,505
October 202448.3%7,321
September 202449.7%7,290
August 202449.8%7,327
July 202450.3%7,400
June 202449.7%7,131
May 202450.4%6,994
April 202449%7,040
How we calculate change
  • Each month's figure is the number of people waiting under 18 weeks divided by everyone on the waiting list, from NHS England's published monthly files.
  • Changes compare the latest month with exactly 3, 6 and 12 months earlier, only where both months are published and the list has at least 50 people.
  • The 12-month label is "improved" or "deteriorated" only if the share moved by 3 percentage points or more; smaller moves are called "broadly stable".
  • Where NHS England reissued a month's file, we use the revised file. Months we do not have are left as gaps and never estimated.
  • Earlier months come from our archive of NHS England's published files and are checked against our current figures wherever both exist.

What these figures cannot tell you

  • These are whole-list figures for one specialty at one organisation. They describe the published waiting list, not how long any one person will wait.
  • Trauma and Orthopaedics covers many conditions and operations. These figures are not specific to hip or knee replacement.
  • Figures are published for the whole organisation, which may run several hospital sites. They do not show the position at any single site.
  • Patients are prioritised by clinical need, so people on the same list can wait very different times.
  • A higher share within 18 weeks is not a measure of the quality of care.

Other NHS trusts offering orthopaedics within 25 miles

Published figures only. These are whole-list figures for each organisation in one month; a different organisation's published position does not mean an individual referral would move faster there.

Alternative trusts for Orthopaedics
TrustDistanceWaitingUnder 18 weeksDifference
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust20.7 mi3,43246%-7.6 pp
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust23.6 mi2,93066%+12.3 pp
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust24.1 mi3,65983%+29.4 pp

What these figures cannot tell you

  • Where you are in a queue, or when you will be seen or treated.
  • How urgent your own referral is. These are aggregate waiting-list figures and do not show the clinical priority of an individual patient.
  • Anything about a specific consultant, clinic or site within a trust.
  • What will happen next month: these are end-of-month snapshots of a past period.

Related guides on this site

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